MD 2 chest trays

[PAdoc]

I am in the process of rebuilding a tray set for the MD 2 chest. I am looking for the outside height of each of the three trays in that set. Anyone who has an original set, your help would be appreciated.
Thanks

[JBSaxon]

PM send , with instructions.'
Here are my results

[Andrewb]

Hi JB

Looks nice.

Is that an original tray set etc or did you build a from parts/scratch? I wasn't sure from your post. I'm asking as I am considering a similar project.

Andrew

[PAdoc]

JB
Thanks for the PM. I must say those are very professional working drawings, and excellent photos of the details. Exactly what I was hoping for. I will have no trouble making up a set of trays now. You also have an excellent display. Well done! and thanks again,
Dirk index.php

[JBSaxon]

@ PAdoc (Dirk?),

after a long research I found these plans on the web. I agree, very professional, in deed. And the information helped a lot.

@ Andrewb,

I crafted these trays by myself, using some plans/ drawings/ sketches



After that I started and finished a second project, a modified chest type MD1

[Malpaso]

Very interesting post ! Thanks to all.

I'm interested in the dimensions and plan for the two litter supports, included in the chest MD1. Anyone could help ?

[Andrewb]

JB

Great work. I would have thought the trays and MD chests were original.

How long did the construction take you and do you have any further projects in the works.

Sincerely
Andrew

[medicall]

Hello all guys who are addicted to"Chest MD 2 and MD 1",

you can see my chest MD 2 just renovated by paint and stencils.
The three trays are not complete,but the look is good on events.
Some items are difficult to find in quantity.
Good luck for restoration of yours.
Medicall

[Andrewb]

Hi Medicall

Nice work with the restoration. The tray set looks as new. .

What is the paperwork on the inside of the MD2 chest lid? Is it a list of tray contents?

Looks like it makes a great display.

Thanks for posting.

Andrew

[Fredental]

Hi all,

Very interesting thread on MD 2 chest, a big thank to those who share their experiences and achievements.

I've just grab an empty MD chest, I want to complete it as you have done and turn it into a MD 2.

This leads me to some additional questions:
1 - The trays are not marked in the same way. Those of Medicall indicates the Item number which surprised me. Was this really the case?
2 - In addition, the color is a what I'm wondering about.  I seemed to have seen MD chest with dark green, at least darker than the classic khaki or OD3. Is it due to aging? Were existing defined specifications for color? Do we find variants? What color did you use (equivalent RAL)?

In advance many thanks for your answer.
Fred

[JBSaxon]

Fred,

for me it was very difficult to find out about the colors.
For the outer side I used the OD paint (matt 1942) which usualy is been used to spray paint vehicles.
For the inside I used RAL 6014, a bit darker, as many chests I have seen are darker on the inside than on the outside. To be honest the reason could be, that many of the crates have been used and repainted by several nations armies. I am not really sure about that...

The markings I have seen on the trays mostly looked like this:



But again, I am not 100% sure and used this style, like be seen on several photos.

Maybe Ben and Alain have the clue.

Cheers

[Ben]

Fred,

I have a Chest that retains its original exterior and interior colour, and will attempt to prepare a few photographs for you over the weekend. There are some colour differences between the two, although it's difficult to tell whether this is as a result of the exterior naturally being weathered by the elements.

I also have an MD4 Chest (complete with contents). The contents still retain their original paint, and so I will also try to photograph those (weather depending).

Thanks,
Ben.

[Fredental]

Hello

@JBSaxon : Many thanks for your answer and the clues for colors.

@Ben : Many thanks in advance for the time taken for pics

Following is the picture of my chest as it is, i.e. "just out from the barn", as you can see it has been part of "Marshall plan" and reused by French army.

It has been painted with French colors (50's) but remains under a more darker green (some kind of "racing green" used by Jaguar , close to RAL6005 as I can best described it). Sorry the picture is not top quality but some strokes of this color can be seen above the right side lock.



Fred

[Ben]

Fred,

As promised, I was able to prepare some photographs of the numerous Chests I have in my collection which still retain their original paint. As you will see, there is a huge variation in the colour and finish used, and this likely reflects time period and manufacturer.

First, is the MD4 Chest. The contents are painted in a satin-finish Olive Drab. The markings appear to have been applied with stencils and a sponge (white lusterless paint). You can see the interior colour of the Chest in the top left corner of the photograph (matches contents):



Next, is the MD1 Chest, complete with inserts. What is interesting here is that the inserts have been painted OD, while the table top and Litter Supports are painted lusterless black. The OD used for the inserts is far greyer than that used on the MD4 Chest. I also removed the bottom section of the lid to illustrate how these were painted:





Finally, here is a Plain Field Chest, which has had the lid removed. It shows the interior colour, and also the exterior colour. You can see underneath the hinges that both colours were identical when the item left the factory. The exterior now appears much darker, but this is likely as a result of natural weather over the years. You can also see the yellow primer that seems to have been used on the Chests (also present on my MD4):







I hope that the above might help to answer your question regarding the 'correct' colour for the Chests.

Regards,
Ben.

[Fredental]

Hi Ben,

Many many thanks for your answer and nice pics.

I was not searching for "correct" colors but for "regular" ones... that does not exists in fact.

Finally I conclude it looks like every color is a mix of supplier's choice, and aging over the years and storing conditions !

Thank you again !
Fred